Alexander Tupitsyn: Smooth Bent Apple with Cocobolo Tobacco Pipe

When referencing the St. Petersburg school of pipe design, one is mostly talking about the aesthetic of Vladimir Grechukhin, as well as Alexander Tupitsyn and Sergey Dyomin who have worked closely with Grechukhin across their careers. This Russian style of pipe making incorporates a number of Danish-inspired design cues — soft curves, supple lines, fluid dynamism — but tends to increase the proportions, often creating a plump, chubby pipes of rather compact, Nosewarmer size. One such piece, a bent Apple by Alexander Tupitsyn, is offered here, and it's an archetypal example of the Russian artisan's typical style and that of St. Petersburg tradition at large.

Most defining of this particular pipe is its shank and transition: In profile, the shank is broad in its slight, upward curl, but when viewed from above, the form reveals a pinched, slender nature, meeting the bowl at a defined transition that emphasizes it's curvature at the base. The underside of the shank comprises two ridgelines that flare in unison with the shank's breadth before curving up and around the top of the shank end which is accented by section of cocobolo wood. The ridgelines continue seamlessly through the briar shank and into the cocobolo accent, naturally incorporating the alternative material into the overall composition. And while the accent's hue is almost identical to the stummel's chestnut stain, the grain patters contrast one another — the cocobolo's being horizontal, while the briar's reveals striking, vertical patterns across the bowl and shank.